Sacramento Head Start Alumni Association

CFK Weekly - July 6, 2004

Jul 20, 2004

Connect for Kids.org: Better Policies for Kids

July 6, 2004

Please send any comments or suggestions to jan@connectforkids.org.

Table of Contents. Click on heading to jump to that section.

NEW ON CONNECTFORKIDS.ORG
**Leading the Way
**Celebrating Families Daily
**When Less is Better

KIDS & POLITICS ?– WE?’VE COME A LONG WAY, BABY!
**Connect for Kids Works!
**"Kids Aren't Us"
**Health Coverage Improves for Children but Struggles Remain
**Brookings Compares Bush and Kerry Education Proposals

KEEPING KIDS SAFE, HEALTHY AND ON TRACK
**Brandon?’s Arms Campaign: Gun Safety Gets Personal
**Therapeutic Foster Care Reduces Teen Violence
**Building Blocks for a Healthy Future
**Spare the Rod, Save the Child
**Treatment or Incarceration? A Look at Cost and Effectiveness
**U.S. Appeals Court Rules Juvenile Detention Centers Liable
**Juvenile Detention: Warehousing Children with Mental Illness

RESOURCES FOR COMMUNITY BUILDERS AND ADVOCATES
**Better Child Care, Preschool and Afterschool Toolkit
**Guides for the Journey: Supporting At-Risk Youth with Paid Mentors and Counselors
**MENTOR Launches Online After-School Program Clearinghouse
**Talking to Lawmakers about Early Childhood Research
**Strategies for Community Investment
**Staples Foundation for Learning Grants

LEGISLATIVE PROPOSALS TO IMPROVE OUTCOMES FOR CHILDREN AND YOUTH
**Federal Youth Coordination Act Introduced
**Improving Dental Care for Disadvantaged Children
** Family Opportunity Act
**Healthy Families Act
**Senate Bill Would Support School Programs on Child Obesity

IMPROVING EDUCATION
**Census Bureau Reports Gains in High School and College Degrees
**Rural School Facilities
**Indiana Governor Has Ideas for Improving NCLB

TARGETING HIGHER ED
**No Room in the Class
**Aid Makes College Costs More Affordable, Says USA Today
**Community Colleges Helping Low-Income Parents Get Better Jobs
**College Track Community Coalitions Forming
**Presidential Freedom Scholarships

JOIN THE CALL!
**Disconnected Youth: Educational Pathways to Reconnection
** Out-of-School Time Audio Conference
**Costs of Early Childhood Care and Education

FOCUS ON THE STATES
**State-by-State News

SUBSCRIBE/UNSUBSCRIBE
________________________________________________________

NEW ON CONNECTFORKIDS.ORG

**Leading the Way
By developing programs for youth grounded in American Indian tribal cultures, the National Indian Youth Leadership project is helping cultivate a new generation of strong leaders. Robert Capriccioso takes a look at the New Mexico-based organization.
http://www.connectforkids.org

**Celebrating Families Daily
Just about everyone celebrates Mother?’s Day in May and Father?’s Day in June, but how about National Parents?’ Day? It's the 4th Sunday of July. Check out Celebrating Families.org for more significant, family-friendly dates. Also, sign up for our free Celebrating Families e-alert.
http://www.connectforkids.org

**When Less is Better
Ever watch a bunch of 6-year-olds playing soccer? It's chaotic fun, win or lose. Fast-forward five years, however, and you'll see intense play and scary sideline behavior by parents. Maybe, suggests Dr. Alvin Rosenfeld, it's time to back off.
http://www.connectforkids.org

back to top

____________________________________________________

KIDS & POLITICS ?– WE?’VE COME A LONG WAY, BABY!

Looking at the news on children, youth and families through a weekly lens can be discouraging, but taking a longer view of change over time brings a much cheerier picture!

Ten years ago, children and politics occupied separate spheres in the minds of most adults ?– kids don?’t vote, so what could government possibly have to do with them? But in the decade since the National Commission on Children called for public investments to expand health coverage and bolster family earnings with child tax credits, attitudes have changed. A new Ad Council survey finds a shift, with fewer adults seeing the welfare of children as solely parents?’ responsibility and more affirming the role of the ?“village?” in raising kids. Connect for Kids is proud to be a part of this campaign.

**Connect for Kids Works!
In 1996, when Connect for Kids began as the flagship and information source for the Ad Council?’s Commitment to Children campaign, the American public tended to see children as a private concern. Public attitude research found that Americans blamed parents for children?’s problems and were not inclined to help those whom they perceived as ?“bad parents.?” Since then, there has been a dramatic shift. According to a new Ad Council survey, most Americans (72 percent) say that raising children is not just a private matter; parents need the support of others in the community. When Connect for Kids launched, we introduced the ancient African proverb, ?“It takes a village to raise a child?” as one of our campaign slogans. A decade later, more people now actually believe in the community?’s role when it comes to healthy children
http://www.adcouncil.org/research/commitment_children

**?“Kids Aren't Us?”
Open Society Institute policy director Mark Schmitt provides an overview of the relationship between children, families and politics over the last two decades in a column for American Prospect. In 1984, Schmitt argues, children's programs amounted to little more than a minimalist safety net tied to a welfare system that reached only families well below the poverty line. They now incorporate a full range of programs -- largely tied to work -- that reach the working poor and are almost as untouchable as the retirees' programs, Medicare and Social Security, says Schmitt.
http://www.prospect.org/web/printfriendly-view.ww?id=8020

**Health Coverage Improves for Children but Struggles Remain
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report dramatic increases in health coverage for poor and near-poor children. Coverage for kids just above (up to 200 percent of the official rate) poverty almost doubled from 24 percent to 47 percent between 1997 and 2003, thanks to the State Children?’s Health Insurance Program. These 2003 rates of children?’s coverage were the highest since CDC started measuring ?– but over ten percent of U.S. children remain uninsured, and the number of uninsured working-age adults increased. One in seven families, even those with insurance, had trouble paying medical bills in 2003, particularly Hispanics and families in southern and western states.
http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/pressroom/04news/insur2003.htm

**Brookings Compares Bush and Kerry Education Proposals
Brookings scholars give a preliminary summary of President Bush and Senator Kerry?’s education proposals, including pre-school, after-school and higher education.
http://www.brookings.edu/views/papers/sawhill/20040623.htm

back to top

________________________________________________________


KEEPING KIDS SAFE, HEALTHY AND ON TRACK

**Brandon?’s Arms Campaign: Gun Safety Gets Personal
When he was seven years old, Brandon Maxfield?’s babysitter accidentally shot him in the face when trying to unload a pistol, leaving Brandon permanently paralyzed below the neck. The gun was designed so that its safety had to be set to ?“fire?” while unloading, making the trigger active and accidents more likely. A jury declared Bryco Arms, the manufacturer, liable. Bryco has now declared bankruptcy and is attempting to reorganize under a new name to continue making the same defective guns. Brandon?’s campaign seeks help in shutting down this effort.
http://www.brandonsarms.org

**Therapeutic Foster Care Reduces Teen Violence
Therapeutic foster care can dramatically reduce juvenile violent crime, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Troubled youth placed with trained foster families, separated from their delinquent peers, and closely supervised at school and at home committed 70 percent fewer violent crimes than peers in standard group residential treatment.
http://www.cdc.gov/od/oc/media/pressrel/r040701b.htm

**Building Blocks for a Healthy Future
Talking with your kids when they are young can build the patterns and relationships you can rely on when they?’re older and confronted with alcohol or smoking. Building Blocks for the Future?’s newly revised Web site has concrete ideas for how to start a good conversation with a 3-year-old, or news parents can use about the impact of TV and computers on young children?’s development.
http://www.bblocks.samhsa.gov/

**Spare the Rod, Save the Child
As California struggles to reshape a juvenile prison system so troubled and violent that some legislators want it closed down, the L.A. Times reports that Missouri is living up to its motto, ?“the Show Me State,?” and winning accolades as the national leader in handling kids who break the law. (Free registration required.)
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-juvie1jul01,1,3039931.story?coll=la-

**Treatment or Incarceration? A Look at Cost and Effectiveness
This Justice Policy Center report, subtitled ?“National and State Findings on the Efficacy and Cost Savings of Drug Abuse Treatment vs. Imprisonment,?”
looks at efforts to reform Maryland?’s justice system and data demonstrating that community-based treatment and prevention programs are more effective in getting offenders back on track, protecting public safety, and saving public dollars than putting addicts and nonviolent people in prison where they get no treatment.
http://www.justicepolicy.org/article.php?list=type&type=98

**U.S. Appeals Court Rules Juvenile Detention Centers Liable
In a lawsuit brought on behalf of a 13-year-old boy with mental health problems who was assaulted while detained in the Luzerne County, Pennsylvania Juvenile Detention Center, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third District found that a county juvenile detention center can be liable for deficient policies and practices, including lacking established policies to address the mental and physical health needs of youth residents.
http://www.jlc.org/home/legaldevelopments/others2004.htm

**Juvenile Detention: Warehousing Children with Mental Illness
On July 7, the House Government Affairs Committee will release its report on the status of children and youth who are held in juvenile detention centers awaiting mental health treatment.
http://www.house.gov/reform/min/

back to top

________________________________________________________


RESOURCES FOR COMMUNITY BUILDERS AND ADVOCATES

**Better Child Care, Preschool and Afterschool Toolkit
This Action Kit has a step-by-step guide and tools to take action and create better quality, more affordable child care choices for families. (See the Just Released box on the home page.)
http://www.familyinitiative.org

**Guides for the Journey: Supporting At-Risk Youth with Paid Mentors and Counselors
Public-Private Ventures explores the use of paid counselors who work with high-risk youth for extended periods of time, and profiles three programs using this strategy.
http://www.ppv.org/ppv/publications/assets/173_publication.pdf

**MENTOR Launches Online After-School Program Clearinghouse
If you want to add a mentoring component to your after-school program, the new After-School Program Clearinghouse from MENTOR/National Mentoring Partnership can give you guidance and tools to get started.
http://www.mentoring.org/afterschool/index.adp

**Talking to Lawmakers about Early Childhood Research
Want to brief lawmakers on new findings or policy options? Our elected officials have little time to investigate a lot of topics in depth, so come prepared to grab their attention and provide them with good one or two-page summaries. Jack Tweedie, of the National Conference of State Legislatures, says: ?“Talk to them like you would to your mother or brother, not your dissertation advisor. In writing, use plain language, graphs, and illustrations. Real-life examples that demonstrate conclusions are best.?” Learn more in the spring 2004 issue of the Harvard Family Research Project.
http://www.gse.harvard.edu/hfrp/_eval/issue26/bbt3.html

**Strategies for Community Investment
This new resource guide from the Annie E. Casey Foundation offers strategies to help level the economic playing field for low-income families. Find tools and resources for planning, implementing, attracting and financing new community investment -- with the goal of better connecting a community to the regional economy.
http://www.aecf.org/lists/fes/summer04/communityinvestment.pdf

**Staples Foundation for Learning Grants
The Staples Foundation for Learning will award grants ranging from $5,000 to $25,000 for a broad range of job training and education programs serving disadvantaged youth and/or students with disabilities. All U.S. public schools and 501(c)(3) organizations are eligible to apply. Application Deadlines: August 2 and September 30, 2004.
http://www.staplesfoundation.org/foundapplication.html

back to top

________________________________________________________

LEGISLATIVE PROPOSALS TO IMPROVE OUTCOMES FOR CHILDREN AND YOUTH

**Federal Youth Coordination Act Introduced
On June 23, 2004, Representatives Tom Osborne (R-NE), Peter Hoekstra (R-MI) and Harold Ford (D-TN) introduced bipartisan legislation in response to the White House Task Force for Disadvantaged Youth. The Federal Youth Coordination Act (FYCA/HR 4703) would establish a Youth Development Council composed of Cabinet secretaries and heads of 16 federal agencies, as well as representatives of community- and faith-based organizations, child- and youth-focused foundations, universities, nonprofit organizations, youth service providers, state and local government, and disadvantaged youth themselves. Advocates hope that a White House-level Youth Development Council would focus federal attention on youth at risk, and better coordinate investments in prevention and intervention programs designed to help them make a successful transition to adulthood.
http://www.forumforyouthinvestment.org/whitehouse/actioncenter.htm

**Improving Dental Care for Disadvantaged Children
For people without access to dental care, oral disease is almost 100 percent inevitable -- despite being 100 percent preventable -- says Representative Michael Simpson (R-ID), a former dentist who has introduced legislation (H.R. 4622) to provide states with federal financial support under Medicaid and the State Children's Health Insurance Program. To be eligible for federal funds, states must improve access to dental care, including expanding the sealant treatment program for school-age children.
http://www.healthinschools.org/2004/jun29_alert.asp

** Family Opportunity Act
The Family Opportunity Act (HR1811), which would allow moderate-income families of children with disabilities to buy into the federal Medicaid program, hit a snag in the House over funding offsets requiring cuts in other Medicaid services. In a letter to Representative Pete Sessions (R-TX), the Association of University Centers on Disabilities urges lawmakers to pass the legislation without spending offsets that would cut funding for other Medicaid populations.
http://www.aucd.org/legislative_affairs/letter_sessions_FOAMFP.htm


**Healthy Families Act
Almost half of the private sector workforce has no paid sick days. Senator Ted Kennedy (D-MA) and Representative Rosa DeLauro (D-CT) have introduced the Healthy Families Act of 2004 (S 2520, HR 4575) to provide paid sick leave so workers can take care of themselves or their families. According to the Institute for Women?’s Policy Research, supplying paid sick leave to employees can reduce contagion in workplaces, lessen absenteeism, increase worker productivity, and decrease turnover rates and health care costs.
http://www.iwpr.org

**Senate Bill Would Support School Programs on Child Obesity
On June 21, Senate Majority Leader Dr. Bill Frist (R-TN) and Senator Ron Wyden (D-OR) introduced anti-obesity legislation in the U.S. Senate and that would help schools provide physical activities and good nutrition, along with ?“aggressive education to steer kids away from harmful behaviors,?” reports the Center for Health and School-Based Health Centers.
http://www.healthinschools.org/2004/jun22_alert.asp

back to top

________________________________________________________


IMPROVING EDUCATION

**Census Bureau Reports Gains in High School and College Degrees
The Census Bureau reports that high school completion rates have remained relatively high in the last two decades, and college rates are climbing -- but huge gaps remain among different populations, the most striking between Hispanics and others entering and completing college. The low Hispanic college rate reflects the relatively low education levels of Hispanic immigrants, whose college rates are far below native-born Hispanics.
http://www.census.gov

**Rural School Facilities
A third of the nation?’s students attend schools in rural areas and small towns, in schools that often lack state and local resources for the kind of facilities and technology essential for modern learning. The Rural School and Community Trust offers policy options for fair and effective state school facilities programs. http://www.ruraledu.org/docs/rural_school_facilities_policies.pdf

**Indiana Governor Has Ideas for Improving NCLB
The current No Child Left Behind law calls for measuring academic progress by comparing today?’s fourth graders with next year?’s, but Gov. Kernan of Indiana says we would get a better indication of how well schools and students are doing if states were given flexibility to track the progress of individual students over time. He also calls for adjusting measurements for academic progress for students with disabilities, especially those with serious cognitive impairments, to provide a fairer accounting of student and school progress.
http://www.in.gov/serv/presscal?PF=gov&Clist=4&Elist=81333

back to top

________________________________________________________


TARGETING HIGHER ED

**No Room in the Class
More than rising tuition, demographics may pose a more fundamental threat to access to higher ed. While states are cutting supports for public colleges, swelling numbers of baby boomers' children and immigrants are applying to state and public colleges, especially in the south and west, increasing demand for the limited supply of slots available at these colleges.
http://chronicle.com/free/v50/i43/43a01901.htm

**Aid Makes College Costs More Affordable, Says USA Today
Contrary to the widespread perception that tuition is soaring out of control, a USA Today analysis found that the tuition and fees students actually pay -- rather than the published tuition price -- have declined for a vast majority of students attending four-year public universities. In fact, today's students have enjoyed the greatest improvement in college affordability since the GI bill provided benefits for returning World War II veterans.
http://www.usatoday.com/usatonline/20040628/6322571s.htm

**Community Colleges Helping Low-Income Parents Get Better Jobs
Women receiving welfare in California who complete an Associates degree or certificate will work more and earn substantially more in the two years after college than they did before college, according to a new report from the CLASP and the California Community Colleges Chancellor?’s Office. From Jobs to Careers: How California Community College Credentials Pay Off for Welfare Participants tracks the employment rates and median annual earnings of female welfare participants who exited the California community college system in 1999-2000.
http://www.clasp.org/DMS/Documents/1088086587.34/JunJul04_Update.pdf

**College Track Community Coalitions Forming
"The College Track: America's Sorting Machine" is a three-part public television documentary series that examines innovative policies and programs preparing all students -- not just those targeted for high achievement -- for higher education. The series will begin airing in late August 2004. You can encourage your local PBS station to air this series, if they have not yet signed up.
http://www.thecollegetrack.com/matriarch/OnePiecePage.asp?PageID=24&PageName=AboutTVSeriesTuneIn

Resources for forming a community coalition are now available.
http://www.thecollegetrack.com/matriarch/OnePiecePage.asp_Q_PageID_E_10_A_PageName_E_CommunityConnCampaigResMateri

**Presidential Freedom Scholarships
Two students from every high school in the country are eligible to receive $1,000 Presidential Freedom Scholarships in recognition of their outstanding service to the community. The annual college scholarship program, which will award up to 8,000 scholarships, is administered by the Corporation's Learn and Serve America program. Applications due by July 16.
http://www.nationalservice.org/news/pr/042904.html

back to top

________________________________________________________


JOIN THE CALL!

**Disconnected Youth: Educational Pathways to Reconnection
According to ranging estimates, nearly 3 million to more than 7 million young people, aged 16 to 24, may be disconnected from the worlds of school and work. In this audio-conference Linda Harris, Senior Policy Analyst at the Center for Law and Social Policy, interviews three experts about innovative new programs that appear to make a difference. You can listen in live on July 9 at 12:30 EDT, or order the audiotape. (Cost: $16.)
http://www.claspstore.org/AudioConference/2004/2004AudioConferenceBrochure.htm#The%202004%20Audio%20Conference%20Series

** Out-of-School Time Audio Conference
Are certain populations of young people at a greater disadvantage in the summer months? What are the real risks of summer learning loss and how should communities address them? Should the focus of summer learning be restricted to remediation or enrichment? The Forum for Youth Investment explores summer learning challenges and opportunities in this audio-conference, July 13 at 3 p.m. EDT. Registration is free, but limited. http://www.forumforyouthinvestment.org/ostpc.htm

The Forum?’s commentary on School's Out: A Look at Summer Learning and Engagement is also online.
www.forumforyouthinvestment.org/ostpc.htm

**Costs of Early Childhood Care and Education
Smart Start's National Technical Assistance Center is sponsoring a audio-conference call on July 19 at 3 pm EDT. Participation is limited. RSVP to taschelling@smartstart-nc.org.

back to top

_______________________________________________________


FOCUS ON THE STATES

California
California?’s paid family leave law provides workers with as much as 55 percent of their pay while they're off work. The new law, the first of its kind in the nation, took effect last week. (See the June 30 L.A. Times article, ?“New Parents Applaud Family Leave Law.?”)
http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-leave30jun30,1,2958238.story?coll=la-home-business

Florida
Tallahassee Democrat says Gov. Jeb Bush will hear citizens' ideas before deciding the fate of a pending pre-K bill that would set up a free statewide pre-K program ?– a program that Bush and others appear to fear may fall short of the mark. (See, ?“Bush Perplexed about Pre-K Plan.?”)
http://www.tallahassee.com/mld/democrat/9028339.htm

Kentucky
With college tuition increasing at record rates all across the country, Kentucky advocates are calling for a bipartisan Cradle to College Commission to find new, innovative ways to ensure that every Kentucky family can afford college for their children. One proposal is a college savings account to all children born in Kentucky.
http://www.ecs.org/html/offsite.asp?document=http://www.cradletocollege.ky.gov/Final%20Press%20Release.htm

Massachusetts
Massachusetts Citizens for Children has colorful brochures for new parents explaining the dangers of shaking your baby.
http://www.masskids.org/mccstore/store_brochurespubs.html